APCOA parking at Charlbury station

Sun 1 Mar, 21:08

I’m relieved to share that APCOA cancelled the parking charge on appeal. I used their complaint form to submit evidence in the form of text messages sent on the day. This created an extra 14 days for them to deliberate, and I suppose without any ‘evidence’ they would have escalated their claim. I finally got an email with pdf attached clearing me of any wrongdoing. 

Fri 30 Jan, 19:42

James, they're not fines but invoices.  So, they are on the civil side of the law, not the criminal side.  Don't pay them, and wait for APCOA to sue in the County Court, which is uneconomic for them.  

Mind you, if you have breached the civil regulations, then it would be best to pay up. 

Thu 29 Jan, 23:17

We got done by them this time last year. Dropped my wife off for a train to Oxford at the start of the evening and picked her up at the end of the evening. I didn't park, the car was in the car park each time for about a minute. 

We didn't see (or receive?) an initial fine letter, the first I knew of it was a demand from a debt recovery agency. I complained but because APCOA had already passed the fine on to the debt recovery agency, they said there was nothing they could do and washed their hands of us. Didn't know about POPLA. Paid the fine. Felt totally scammed. I imagined it was a one-off but it doesn't sound like it was. I've been meaning to get myself some false numberplates ever since.

Tue 27 Jan, 13:41 (last edited on Tue 27 Jan, 13:45)

Yet another good reason to have a dashcam installed...

Just make sure that the date/time and, to be sure, the location information display is enabled. I also enable the speed information display too. 

Wed 21 Jan, 18:52

Hi Greg - exactly the same thing happened to me a year ago when I did two drop-offs at the station, and their cameras failed to detect me leaving in the morning and arriving in the evening.

I challenged the parking charge (without any evidence) and they accepted this. Sorry to hear they are not being reasonable in your case. It seems obvious from this thread that their system is unreliable, especially in the dark of winter.

Mon 19 Jan, 18:00

Greg,  Here is the link to POPLA, the independent appeals  tribunal; https://www.popla.co.uk/start-an-appeal

I haven't read anything to see what they need in support of an appeal but suggest that DashCam footage would be the most useful although, with the passage of time, a camera may have by now recorded over any supporting evidence. Failing that, did you have any appointments/meetings/visits where someone can corroborate your story? APCOA seem to be a nasty hard nosed company and we should all challenge them when we receive a wrongly or unreasonably issued PCN - I did not but will certainly do so in future.  I hope you win - good luck.

Mon 19 Jan, 17:07

We had one just before Christmas as well in exactly the same circumstances - we appealed but didn’t have any evidence to “prove” that the car wasn’t in the car park all day…fortunately the appeal was accepted.  I wonder if the technology had a glitch thats hopefully now rectified 🤞

Mon 19 Jan, 16:24

I am not sure what the "grace period" at Charlbury station is these days. I believe it's 15 minutes, but the exact time should be displayed near the parking payment machine. It can vary at different venues from between 10 and 20 minutes.

I do recommend "autopay" " which is available from Charlbury Station, as is also "late pay". Personally, I prefer "autopay" as that also covers a number of nearby stations, as well as some more distant ones. There's reams of stuff about appealing online, but the regulations became much tighter a few years ago, making appeals less likely to succeed.

Mon 19 Jan, 13:07

Technically, they are not "fines" but invoices.

APCOA generally issues Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) or Penalty Notices, which are technically invoices for an alleged breach of contract, rather than fines.

Here is a breakdown of the distinction:

Private Contractual Invoices: In private car parks (like many train stations and hospitals managed by APCOA), they are not statutory fines. They are charges for allegedly failing to follow the terms and conditions, such as not paying for parking or overstaying.

Misleading Terminology: Although they may look official, these are not "fines" issued under criminal law, but rather invoices.

Exceptions: If APCOA is acting on behalf of a local authority (council), they may issue official Penalty Charge Notices.

Key Advice:

Do not ignore them: Although they are invoices, they can lead to court action, and they are enforceable against the registered keeper.

Appeal: You have 28 days to challenge the notice if you believe it is unfair (e.g., you paid, signs were unclear, or it was a minor typo).

POPLA: If your appeal is rejected, you can escalate the matter to the independent appeals service, POPLA.

Mon 19 Jan, 12:59

We had this problem a couple of times when we went to pick up my son.  However we explained the situation and they cancelled the fine! 

Sun 18 Jan, 16:17

Has anyone else received a parking penalty notice from APCOA when they drop off and pick up from the station? I dropped my daughter off in the morning on 23rd December and picked her up again in the evening. According to APCOA's automated system I must have been parked there all day! I'm currently in the time-consuming and unnecessary process of providing further evidence as my initial appeal was rejected by APCOA.